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THE COWBOYS (1972) - NEW! 2018 Varese Deluxe Edition


Jay

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22 minutes ago, Jurassic Shark said:

Are you sure you think Family Plot sounds better than Jaws?

It sounds cleaner, somewhat less processed (heavy processing is the only way, I believe, the Jaws recordings can be decently presented). The orchestra sounds closer too, more present. I just gave a listen to the first track "The First Séance" to make sure my ears weren't fooling me, and indeed Jaws doesn't sound as good.

 

21 minutes ago, Jay said:

1st generation elements were stored properly by WB for The Cowboys and by Sony for CE3K, while Universal didn't properly store Jaws' 1st gen elements and later dubs had to be used instead.  That's the difference.

Yes. Not only we don't know how may generations away from the original recordings those dubs are and how well were they preserved from 1975 to 2000, but crappy tape stock was used to make them. Add that to the mix, and you have one the most iconics film music of all time being decently presented only 40 years after the initial release. There's no business like show business.

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9 minutes ago, Jay said:

I don't think it's correct to call the 1994 Varese CD of the Cowboys "the OST".  An OST album is an album commissioned around the time of a film's release, funded by the marketing budget of the film, where the composer (or someone he hires to do it for him) gets to arrange the music recorded for the film into a music album for the mass market, possibly with additional music recorded specifically for it that wasn't ever meant to be heard in the film.

 

I think most of us know this, but it's just more convenient to call it the OST.

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I feel like at this point CDs should have those disclaimers like in political ads:

 

”I’m John Williams, and I approved this album.”:D

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2 hours ago, Jay said:

Nobody is taking your old CD away from you.

 

When the border police are done putting children into cages, they'll use the cages to hold all the outdated OST albums. 

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I've now listened to the promo, and while the sound quality sounds reasonably fresh compared to the OST (yes, I'm going to call it that), it's not really a radical difference -- like the two releases of RAIN MAN, for example. Also, the presentation and sequencing makes it borderline unlistenable as one singular piece/work, IMO, which is a shame because it has so many good individual tracks (and that's without the bonus/alternate tracks at the end taken in consideration). The music is top notch, and unquestionably the best western score Williams did. The OST is perfectly selected and arranged, whoever did it (probably Townson); it contains all the highlights. But I'll probably hold on to the digital promo, in case I want to replace the tracks of the OST with the new tracks in my iTunes (slightly better sound, correct channels etc.).

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Yes, and thank you, Jay. I was just curious which tracks Thor would replace and which he would keep. And what he would do about the Alternate Main Title.

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Sorry for the confusion. It would be exactly the same tracks as the OST, in the same order. Didn't hear any unreleased tracks that would warrant an inclusion, but I'll probably need to give it another listen to see if I missed any unreleased highlight that would fit into the existing programme somehow, without losing the flow.

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I just got my shipping notice!

 

It says it shipped out of Tennessee?  I thought their warehouse was in California?

Says it'll be here Tuesday.

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I just listened to the key tracks of the new release. The sound is indeed better balanced and more detailed, probably because of the new mix. I wouldn't call it top-notch though compared to the best orchestral recordings of the era. The End Cast cue is a great disappointment with its long fade-out - Exit Music is much more enjoyable and a fitting conclusion. It's interesting to hear the "true" Summer's Over cue, with its serene guitar solo. Anybody knows who did the arrangement of Vivaldi's guitar concerto - was it JW?

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I don't know if Williams did the arrangement himself or one of the orchestrators did, but the liner notes do say it was a pre-planned by Rydell and Williams before filming began

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15 minutes ago, Jay said:

It says it shipped out of Tennessee?  I thought their warehouse was in California?

 

I think I remember someone on FSM talking about them getting an/some extra location with the Naxos deal.

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I find it very unrealistic that someone would play Vivaldi in cowboy-land, as his music fell into obscurity after the Baroque era and was virtually unknown until re-discovered in the 1920s. Good job, JW! :thumbup:

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16 hours ago, phbart said:

It sounds cleaner, somewhat less processed (heavy processing is the only way, I believe, the Jaws recordings can be decently presented). 

 

How do you think the complete Jaws release sounds heavily processed?

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I don't know, actually. It just sounds like that to me. At least, to me, it doesn't sound as "natural" as the other two 3 channels mono I mentioned before.

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36 minutes ago, Bespin said:

They always ship to Jason in priority.  That's favoristism. 😋

 

It wouldn't be a new Williams-Matessino release without someone making this joke!!  I'm just glad it wasn't me this time 😏

 

I double-checked and I placed my order 20 minutes after it went up!

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I always order my new items with unsold old crap CDs... so I know at least why my orders take an eternity to get shipped.

 

"Not with my Wife... vol. 2 ?" Okay... In the background somewhere at the right...

 

Résultats de recherche d'images pour « indiana jones area 51 »

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11 minutes ago, JohnnyD said:

I ordered it on Tuesday, and I have not gotten a shipping notice yet. What the heck?

It's Varese.

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1 hour ago, JohnnyD said:

I ordered it on Tuesday, and I have not gotten a shipping notice yet. What the heck?

 

I ordered it on Monday and haven't gotten a shipping notice!

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Well the shipping says I won't have it until Tuesday. Surely people closer to Tennessee or Cali will have it before then.

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Well Varese is sure taking its sweet time to send these out. I ordered on Tuesday and order status is still unfulfilled. 

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1 minute ago, Incanus said:

Well Varese is sure taking its sweet time to send these out. I ordered on Tuesday and order status is still unfulfilled. 

Well, they said the week of the 18th, so they have about 9 hours left to ship ;)

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50 minutes ago, Incanus said:

Well Varese is sure taking its sweet time to send these out. I ordered on Tuesday and order status is still unfulfilled. 

 

I ordered it on the 19th, and it was fulfilled on the 20th for pre-shipment. Since then, there has been no change in the status of shipment. I still have not gotten a shipping confirmation yet. I've never seen this before.

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8 hours ago, Stefancos said:

Please dont say stupid phrases like coolio!

 

There's a rapper that's been on my mind, all the time. Cool Cool Coolio!

 

He don't even know my name, but I think he likes me just the... No, now it's weird. 

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